old mountain goat

There have been plenty of reviews about the Mallet, so I wont be breaking any ground here. These are good solid platform pedals if you want to be clipped in. They are lightweight, very well built, and look good as well.

Weight wise my set comes in at 238gm’s each (8.4oz’s each)

They come as a complete kit including cleats and shims. The shims seem to be needed for most shoes to make these pedals release reliably.

Grip is provided by allen set screws and the traction is decent when you aren’t clipped in, but riding with regular (non clipless) shoes doesn’t really work out all that well. Even for very short rides. The springs stick up too far from the platform and greatly hinder your foot placement.

UPDATE: 9/16/08 After having raced a Super D race with the , I have decided to work with the Mallets a bit more. I decided to try the Mallets again as I felt I gave up a bit of time on an extended climb using the 5050’s. Im not sure if it was the weight or the lack of being clipped in, but I will see if I can determine the ultimate reason.

I was trying to come up with a way to make me feel more secure being clipped in while riding in very technical terrain and I might have found it. What I have tried is angling the cleat on my shoes to provide an earlier release. I would estimate it to be between 8 and 10 degrees, as opposed to the stock 15 degrees. This has allowed me to pop right out of the pedals with a slight twist of my foot. It isn’t so easy that you unclip accidently, but you can bail out very fast when needed. I’m sure this will become less needed the better my skills get, but for now its a great compromise and is working very well.

I want to add that the when riding with the Mallets, in comparison with the 5050′s, pedaling effort seems to be less. I understand that this is a very subjective statement, but none the less seems to be true. The bike pedals easier with no other changes. Granted this could be the result of being clipped in and using the power from the upside leg, but what ever the reason, the bikes moves easier, and that’s a good thing.

Update: 9/24/08 I have gone back to the 5050 pedals as I did some further testing and both time and pedaling effort show no difference between these two pedals. These are great pedals and I am in no way unhappy with them. I just seem to be more comfortable using platforms. Check out the review of the 5050′s